Taemin didn't believe in magic, he wasn't superstitious, but there was one time in his life when he seriously questioned if he had just been bewitched.

It happened at his best friend's place in summer and Taemin didn't see it coming at all. Of course, he had been looking forward to going over to Jongin's for weeks. 

After all, he had been friends with the fellow dancer since their first year of middle school, yet he had never seen his home before although they both lived in the same city. 

Taemin and Jongin met at a boarding school. They both arrived there on the first day, scared and shaking at the thought of being on their own surrounded by people they had never seen before, strangers. By chance, they were paired up to sit next to each other by their homeroom teacher and at first, Taemin couldn't believe it - what were the odds that, at one of the most prestigious boarding schools of South Korea that was casting people from all over the country, he would meet a boy who was from the same area, the same suburb of Seoul as he was.

Taemin and Jongin were, much to their surprise, connected by so much more than their hometown. They actually shared the same passion for dancing, which had driven both of them to take the entrance exam of the boarding school. Beside all of its academic courses, which had an excellent reputation, it offered some of if not the best dancing classes for middle schoolers in South Korea. 

Needless to say, Jongin and Taemin had no problems getting along.

From the first week on, it felt like they had known each other forever. They soon became the dream couple of their grade, except they were never attracted to each other, no matter what the rumors said. Their fellow students liked to whisper about the two, be it because they were undeniably joined at the hip or because Jongin soon grew into very handsome boy while Taemin was still cursed with a round face and squishy cheeks.

Truth be told, he hated his looks.

Taemin did not understand how Jongin, who was younger than him by more than half a year, could look so mature when he himself was stuck with thin and gangly limbs that didn't fit his dancer image and the worst kind of baby face. It was only in the winter after he had finished middle school that Taemin's face started to mature and thin out.

Coincidentally, that was the same winter he was supposed to visit Jongin's house for the first time. Despite their closeness and their families residing in the same place, Taemin had never been over at Jongin's, mostly due to the fact that his family liked to go on extraordinary and expensive trips to tropical islands whenever he was home for the holidays. In their second year, Jongin had stayed at Taemin's home for a whole week, but apart from that they only saw each other at school where they shared a room and a desk. 

Therefore, it was only natural for Taemin to be excited about his visit. He had imagined over and over how Jongin's house would look, how they would sit at the table and eat together and - most importantly - how such scenarios would soon become normal. 

They had just finished middle school and since the academy only offered courses for people between the ages of 12 and 15, they had to look for a high school to transfer to. Luckily, Taemin and Jongin managed to get into the same one, a little institute in the outskirts of Seoul that had a dance crew and offered special training to students who wanted to join competitions.

However, both of them would move back home since their high school was no boarding school. Considering they lived so close to each other, though, Taemin doubted it would make a huge difference.

The day he was supposed to visit Jongin, Taemin paid special attention to his attire. He had never met his best friend's dad before and didn't want to step in front of him looking like some teen delinquent.

In retrospect, Taemin knew just how lucky he was to have dressed so well - though he didn't know what he had gotten himself into until he turned up at Jongin's front door. The boy opened the door with a bright smile and pulled Taemin inside quickly.

“C'mon, I have my PlayStation ready!“

“How did your skin get even tanner since I've last seen you?“ Taemin commented in a whiny voice when he had plopped down onto the leather couch in front of the TV, which looked impressive (and expensive) to say the least.

Jongin smirked.

“I played volleyball in the sun, that's all.“

He was visibly enjoying the sour look on Taemin's face, which was neither pale nor tan. It was quite odd that Jongin liked his bronze skin color, since most of the stuck up citizens of Korea would call it ugly. Their beauty ideal was fair and pale skin, no matter how wrong that was - but for some reason, the girls back at the boarding school had found Jongin's tan ridiculously hot and the muscular boy had left Taemin in the dust behind him.

The older of the two definitely didn't hate his appearance and he didn't want to change it desperately either, yet in comparison with Jongin he always felt like he was lacking. 

“Why did I even spend three weeks on Bali?“ Taemin grumbled to himself as he took the controller of the PS, but the way Jongin looked him up and down, his eyes lingering on Taemin's newly acquired sharp jawline, soon had him smiling again.

The two boys started playing, bickering with each other for a while. They hadn't been allowed any electronics at the boarding school and Taemin decided he could definitely get used to this.

Just when he thought how he never wanted to stop playing, Jongin stopped the game and got up.

“Sorry, Taem,“ he apologized, his face only showing a hint of guilt. “I just remembered I have to help the ahjumma from across the street lift something. But I'll be back in ten, and maybe I'll even bring cake. She's great at baking and always generous!“

“But what am I supposed to do while you're gone?“ Taemin whined with a glance at the TV.

Jongin shrugged.

“I don't know. Just make yourself at home!“

Seconds later he was gone and Taemin was alone. The afternoon sun was sending warm beams through the enormous window panes to Taemin's right, making the boy feel sleepy and comfortable even in unfamiliar environment.

He had just closed his eyes and rested his head against the back part of the couch when he heard light steps approach. The door opened with a quiet sliding noise and Taemin knew he wasn't alone anymore.

With a frown, he turned around the glance over his shoulder - and that was when he was bewitched.

At least that was what Taemin believed to this very day.

In front of his eyes stood the most stunning girl he had ever seen. She was clad in a simple white sweatshirt that was stuffed into her black skirt that ended above her waist. The outfit would have been a bit plain if it hadn't been for the giant necklace the girl was wearing, colorful plastic diamonds resting on the pale skin just above the collar of her shirt.

That, and her hair was green.

Taemin had seen his fair share of people with dyed hair - the idols on TV all seemed to bleach theirs these days and even at his stuck up boarding school a few people were known to dye their hair regularly.

Still, this girl's hair somehow stood out to Taemin. A second glance at it made him think that his first impression hadn't been right - it was more teal than green, and the color made the peach blush on the girl's cheeks stand out more.

Subconsciously, Taemin squinted as he tried to spot any freckles on the girl's cheeks.

So far, she hadn't noticed his presence yet, looking around the room in search for someone or something. When her gaze came closer to where Taemin was sitting he could hear his heart pounding loudly inside his chest and he had to fight the urge to hide away from the girl's eyes.

Her body was slim, a bit fragile even, but her jawline and her dark eyes made her seem fierce in a way that made Taemin shudder. Even upon the risk of being discovered, he couldn't will himself to look away.

The boy had, as he later swore, been bewitched by her presence.

Finally, her gaze landed on him and Taemin shrunk into the couch, hoping to become invisible miraculously. He heard the girl let out a surprised gasp behind him, but before she could raise her voice, the sound of a door closing sounded out to them and seconds later, Jongin entered the room.

“Ki-noona!“ he greeted and Taemin could hear the smile in his friend's voice.

Oddly, he felt a bit of jealousy bubble up in his chest at the comfortable way Jongin had addressed the girl in.

He called her noona, Taemin bitterly thought.

“Nini-yah,“ the girl responded, “I got off earlier than I first thought, so we can eat dinner together!“

Her voice was deeper than Taemin had expected, and it wasn't pretty either, but at that moment he was sure it was the nicest sound he had ever heard. The realization made a blush rise up his neck when the girl, Jongin's noona, suddenly asked, “who are you by the way?“

Taken by complete surprise, Taemin spluttered and almost choked on his cheek. The fact that the girl had asked about him flattered him, but the positive feeling was soon replaced by discomfort when Jongin stepped closer to the girl with another blinding smile.

“That's Taemin, noona! Didn't you know he was coming over?“

Ki laughed and her laugh was obnoxious, but Taemin couldn't bring himself to care. He was busy smiling like an idiot when the girl's eyes fell on him again.

“Oh, so you are Taemin! I finally get to meet you, too, huh?“

She walked over to the couch with a few large steps and lowered her head. In all honesty, her towering figure was a bit intimidating, but Taemin couldn't be scared.

“Hi, Taemin. I'm Jongin's older sibling Ki. You can call me noona of course.“

Taemin allowed himself to let out a little sigh of relief upon hearing she was related to Jongin by blood. He suddenly felt a lot better, although there was still one thing that left him confused.

“I never knew Jongin had an older sister, too,“ he mumbled as he avoided Ki's eyes.

Jongin seemed ready to in, but his sister was faster.

“Did you never talk about me, Nini? I'm hurt.“

“I...I only-“ Jongin trailed off and Taemin said, “I always thought you had an older brother named...Kibum?“

His friend shifted awkwardly. “Kibum-hyung is...“

“...my twin brother!“ Ki smiled a blinding grin that left Taemin with a hollow feeling in his chest after it had vanished. “Honestly, I thought Nini would have mentioned me at least... Guess not.“

“Are you gonna...make dinner, noona?“ Jongin asked, but his posture showed how uncomfortable he was.

Taemin was busy wondering what was going on behind his best friend's forehead while Ki nodded.

“I'll make some for the both of you - provided that dad doesn't come home early of course.“

“Is there anything you can't eat, Taemin-ah?“

The sounds of his own name coming out of Ki's mouth made Taemin's chest swell and he proudly shook his head at her.

“I'm fine with anything.“ – because he couldn't imagine anything made by this beautiful girl ever tasting bad.

“Okay, I'll be off to shop for ingredients then! See you later, boys.“

Ki did a little salute and giggled cutely afterwards, a noise that made Taemin's heart pound more loudly in his ears. He was still busy wondering why he had never ran into a woman as beautiful as Jongin's sister before, especially as they seemed to go grocery shopping like any other person, when his best friend suddenly called his name.

Feeling like a child getting caught with their hand inside the candy jar, Taemin's head whipped around.

“What's up?“ he replied a little too breathlessly, but Jongin hardly seemed to notice.

“Do you plan on resuming the game anytime soon?“ the younger asked with a glance at the controller in Taemin's hand.

“Oh yeah, of course. Silly me.“

Taemin laughed a bit as he pressed play, the two of them continuing where they had left of. However, the perfect face of Jongin's sister wouldn't stop haunting Taemin's thoughts and after a while he couldn't contain himself anymore.

“Why did you never mention you had a sister?“

“Huh?“

The question made Jongin jump, his character consequently dying in the right corner of the screen as he accidentally fell down a cliff. He cursed under his breath before looking up at Taemin.

“Well, you never asked I guess.“

“But you talked about your hyung.“

“Well, that's different.“

It's not, Taemin thought to himself. Except your brother can't possibly be as pretty as Ki-noona.

“She's the complete contrary of you,“ he stated loudly as he briefly looked Jongin over. “She's super pale, pretty thin, her eyes are different. Do you get along with her?"

“I love Ki-noona a lot,“ Jongin immediately said. “There have been difficult times in the past... I used to worry a lot about her. But I'm happy that she's happy now.“

“What's her real name anyway?“

“What?“

Jongin's eyes were wide as marbles and he was staring at Taemin as if his friend had just grown a second head. The older boy scoffed.

“C'mon, just 'Ki' would be a weird name for a girl. Especially if her twin brother is really named Kibum. What's so weird about my question?“

“Oh that. Well, noona just requested to be called Ki one day and I didn't question it. Everyone calls her that, you know. She has always enjoyed learning foreign languages, so it's really no wonder she adopted an English name.“

“English?“

Now it was Taemin's turn to be confused.

“Well,“ Jongin began. “Ki. That's spelled K-E-Y. You know, key and lock, like that.“

“Oh god.“

A blush crept up Taemin's cheeks when he realized he had been spelling the girl's name wrongly all the time, even though it had only been in his head. Still, he was mortified by his own misunderstanding - what if Key had noticed?

“So, do you think we'll get the same homeroom?“ Jongin easily switched the topic much to Taemin's relief - he didn't want his best friend to know how much meeting Key had thrown him off.

However, for the rest of the day he had great difficulty getting the girl's beautiful face out of his head. When he lay in bed that night, he replayed their meeting in his head and the memory of her laugh made him beam.

Never had Taemin ever encountered a girl that was more dazzling before. He didn't care that Key was older and taller than him or that she was Jongin's sister. All he knew was that he wanted to see her again as soon as possible.